Bookkeeping is one of those business tasks that many entrepreneurs want to avoid. Creative entrepreneurs especially tend to shy away from the numbers, preferring to wait until the very last minute to get everything prepared for tax time, without fully understanding the financial side of their business. Does that sound like you?

Although most folks take this what I affectionately call the “cut-and-paste approach to contract drafting,” it’s not an ideal scenario if you’re looking to protect your business baby. There are a handful of reasons why this is, but among them is that you might be inadvertently giving away important rights that could protect you in the future.

Meg Clarke is an SEO Strategist and the owner and founder of Clapping Dog Media. Meg works with creative businesses to grow their organic traffic and rankings so that they can meet their business goals.